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N0KFQ > TODAY 09.04.08 20:00l 48 Lines 2243 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Apr 9
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From: N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
To : TODAY@ALLUS
April 9, 1865
Lee surrenders
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Union
General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
For more than a week, Lee had tried to outrun Grant to the west
of Richmond and Petersburg. After a ten-month siege of the two
cities, the Union forces broke through the defenses and forced
Lee to retreat. The Confederates moved along the Appomattox
River, with Union General Phillip Sheridan shadowing them to the
south. Lee's army had little food, and they began to desert in
large numbers on the retreat. When Lee arrived at Appomattox, he
found that his path was blocked. He had not choice but to request
a meeting with Grant.
They met at a house in Appomattox at 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon
of April 9. Lee was resplendent in his dress uniform and a fine
sword at his side. Grant arrived wearing a simple soldier's coat
that was muddy from his long ride. The great generals spoke of
their service in the Mexican War, and then set about the business
at hand. Grant offered generous terms. Officers could keep their
side arms, and all men would be immediately released to return
home. Any officers and enlisted men who owned horses could take
them home, Grant said, to help put crops in the field and carry
their families through the next winter. These terms, said Lee,
would have "the best possible effect upon the men," and "will do
much toward conciliating our people." The papers were signed and
Lee prepared to return to his men.
In one of the great ironies of the war, the surrender took place
in the parlor of Wilmer McClean's home. McClean had once lived
along the banks of Bull Run, the site of the first major battle
of the war in July 1861. Seeking refuge from the fighting,
McClean decided to move out of the Washington-Richmond corridor
to try to avoid the fighting that would surely take place there.
He moved to Appomattox Court House only to see the war end in his
home.
Although there were still Confederate armies in the field, the
war was officially over. Four years of bloodshed had left a
devastating mark on the country: 360,000 Union and 260,000
Confederate soldiers had perished during the Civil War.
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